


Shot Through The Heart (You're Not to Blame)

by Wolvesta



Series: Aftercare Bingo [9]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Aftercare Bingo, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Babysitting, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Evan Buckley Whump, Gun Safety, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Evan "Buck" Buckley, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Mistakes, Near Death, established Buddie, no beta we die like women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24398272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolvesta/pseuds/Wolvesta
Summary: Buck is ‘babysitting’ the kids of the 118 at the Grant-Nash home. And everything seems to be going great until a gun finds its way into the house and everyone is in danger.or:Someone ignores the gun safety speech their mom gave and gives into peer pressure and plays with the gun in the mom's drawer. It goes off and Buck suffers the consequences.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Harry Grant (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Aftercare Bingo [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542400
Comments: 18
Kudos: 616





	Shot Through The Heart (You're Not to Blame)

Based off of this [prompt](https://chitownwolf.tumblr.com/post/618747125609758720/prompt-up-for-grabs-established-buddie-and)!

* * *

“Her snacks are in the bag, she was just fed and will need to be fed again in about 4 hours. She’s beginning to eat solids now. Extra diapers and wet-naps are in the bag too, you have my number right?”

“Karen, don’t worry I got this. This isn’t the first time I’ve watched Nia, she’s in good hands” Buck says as he takes Nia from Karen’s arms, who is still sleeping. She stirs a little but settles on Buck’s shoulders. Karen puts the bag by the door and repeats what she said earlier.

“Karen, I got this. You go nail that job interview, ok? We’ll be fine” Buck gestures to Nia and Denny, who is hugging his mom. “Besides, if there are any problems, which there won’t be, I’ve got Denny and the others ok?” Karen sighs and then nods. She gives a kiss to Nia’s forehead and then to Denny before giving one on Buck’s cheek.

“Thanks so much Buck, you’re a godsend” she says before rushing out. Denny closes the door and rushes to where the others are. Chris is waiting his turn for Super Smash Bros., while Harry is playing a few of his other friends. Buck goes to where May’s room is and he gently knocks. The door opens and she allows Buck to enter.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Buck asks and May waves him off.

“I’ll be on my computer anyway, it’s fine” May says before Buck carefully places Nia on May’s bed. He pulls up a small blanket for her and he leaves as May puts on her headphones.

“Does anyone want some fruit?” Everyone raises their hand and Buck goes off to the kitchen. He smiles as he remembers how he got into this situation in the first place.

_It’s Buck’s day off while everyone else is working. He was originally going to hang out with Chris but then he saw Hen panicking as Karen got a job interview, and no one was going to be able to watch Nia and Denny. Buck volunteered to watch all three and then he somehow got roped into watching Harry and May, even though May is more than old enough to watch Harry by herself. So now he’s in the Grant-Nash household, watching the kids of the 118, along with some of Harry’s friends from his class. Buck recognized some of them from the fire safety demonstration that the 118 gave his class. Athena was wary of Buck watching all the kids, but felt better when he said that he doesn’t mind being in their house. There are proper safety measures in the house along with CCTV in and out of the house. Mostly the main areas of the house, the living/dining room, along with the kitchen and backyard. Eddie left Chris at the Grant-Nash house, but not before kissing his husband goodbye, and a promise to see them both in the morning since he has an overnight shift. Athena gives Buck instructions on where everything is and the emergency contacts on the fridge._

Buck smiles as he thinks that he’ll have another kid to look after once Maddie gives birth to his niece/nephew. Buck hears May enter the kitchen.

“Hey Buck, just letting you know that I’m leaving. My friends and I are going to the mall to get some stuff for our dorms. Nia is beginning to stir.” May says as she points to the door.

“Ok May, stay safe, and be home by 7:30 ok?” May nods and Buck places the bowl of fruit along with forks on the table before going to grab Nia. She starts to move and squirm in Buck’s arms and Denny looks over to see.

“That means she wants to play, I can play with her on the porch” Denny volunteers and Buck nods as he gently places Nia on the porch after putting up the baby gate in front of the stairs, so Nia doesn’t have an accident. He leaves the sliding door open in case they need him. He then goes to the kitchen to prepare some lunch for everyone when he hears the echoes of amazement coming from the living room. He thinks nothing of it since they are playing Super Smash Bros.

Buck is halfway done with lunch when he hears Chris’ crutches coming into the kitchen. He turns to greet him but stops when he sees tears and fear in his face. He puts the knife away before going to kneel before Chris.

“Chris? What’s wrong kiddo?” Buck asks as Chris falls into Buck for a hug.

“Papa…it’s H-harry. H-he’s scaring me!” Chris practically sobs and before Buck can go see what’s going on, he has to calm Chris down first. Buck picks him and hugs him tight, rubbing his back and making soft reassuring noises. Once Chris has stopped crying, he pulls back.

“Listen Chris, why don’t you go play with Denny and Nia on the porch and I’ll talk to Harry ok?” Chris wipes his nose and nods. “That’s my superman” Buck gently kisses Chris on the forehead before sending him outside. He then goes into the living room to see what all the commotion is, what he sees makes him freeze.

_Harry is waving around one of Athena’s guns. The one she keeps in the locked drawer…only it wasn’t locked_

_And now everyone is in danger_

“Harry, I need you to please put the gun down and back away from it” Buck says in a no-nonsense voice, and the kids around him seem to listen, because they scoot away from Harry and watch from a safe distance. He feels his heart rate pick up as he waves it around, pretending to shoot things in the house.

“Don’t worry Buck, it’s not loaded!” Harry says as he keeps waving it around the room. Buck can feel the atmosphere change instantly when he sees the safety is off. Even though he has no idea if the gun is loaded or not, he has to treat it like it is.

“That doesn’t matter Harry, it’s not a toy. Put it down!” Buck tries to keep the panic out of his voice, but he thinks he fails when Harry looks at him again, not listening to what he is saying. Harry then laughs as he points it to Buck as a joke. But it wasn’t a joke…

_Especially when the gun goes off, startling everyone in the house and outside. Buck didn’t know it, but Denny and Chris were watching the whole time._

_After the ringing in everyone’s ears stop, the first thing they hear is a scream of terror._

“PAPA!” Harry looks around to see where the shout came from. He sees Christopher’s face smushed up against the glass, tears in his eyes. Harry also sees Denny hands over Nia’s ears, who is hiding her face in his arms. He looks up in time to see Buck breathing slowly. Who looks down at his white shirt and sees red slowly seeping through. Buck then glances at Harry with a shocked expression, before his eyebrows furrow up in pain. He then clutches his chest before stumbling back and falling, hitting his on the hardwood floor, knocking him out.

{~}{~}

“Would you relax?” Hen says to Athena, who is pacing back and forth in the loft.

“I can’t…something is wrong” she says for the 3rd time in 20 minutes.

“Buck can handle things, he’s done it before. Besides it’s in your house, so I’m sure he’s fine” Eddie says reassuringly.

“Yea but every time Buck steps foot in that house, something seems to go wr-“

“Do not finish that sentence Chimney Han” Eddie says, pointing a finger to shut him up.

“Yea don’t jinx it. Athena, if you’re so worried, check the cameras” Bobby says and Athena nods as she pulls out her phone. Everyone gathers around to look at the footage and everyone smiles as they see Buck bouncing around the house with Nia in his arms. All the kids are in the living room, playing video games.

“See? Everything is fine” Bobby says and Athena sighs as she pockets the phone.

“I guess I’m having an off day” Athena says as she takes a seat at the table. But it’s for nothing as the bell rings, dispatch then patches into the radio of the truck.

“ _Ladder 118, be advised. There was a reported 10-71 on your location. Sergeant Athena Grant is responding to provide cover, there is a GSW victim with a wound to the chest.”_

“10-45?” Asks Bobby and dispatch takes a moment to respond.

 _“10-45C”_ is the response and Bobby then has an unreadable expression.

“Bobby? What does that mean?” Hen asks.

“10-71 is a shooting, 10-45 is asking the status of the patient, and 10-45C means that it’s critical. So we need all hands on deck for this one, that means Hen, Chim, and you as well Eddie. They all nod, but then Eddie speaks up.

“Cap, what’s the address?” Eddie asks but stops when the driver turns down a familiar street. Everyone in the cabin then gets the same thought.

_Please don’t turn left_

They all secretly pray, but it’s denied as the truck turns left and stops in front of a familiar house.

_A gunshot…a gunshot victim_

_All the kids…_

_Buck…_

{~}{~}

“PAPA!” Chris screams again as he pounds through the glass. Harry then crawls forward and shakes Buck.

“Buck! I’m sorry…wake up!” Harry yells as tears are building in his eyes, he should have listened to Buck the first time he told him to put the gun down. Hell, he never should have grabbed the gun in the first place, but his friends dared him to get one. And he knows his mom always keeps on in her nightstand, but it wasn’t locked this time. He thought it wasn’t loaded…and now?

“Please call someone!” Someone yells and Harry pulls out his phone and he calls May. She’ll know what to do, she always knows what to do. He wishes she was here, but she left, even though she wasn’t supposed to. But she promised him a new video game if he didn’t tell anyone.

 _“_ Please pick up…” Harry whispers and sighs in relief when May answers.

“What Harry?” May asks in an annoyed voice, but Harry can’t seem to care.

“I-it’s Buck. I took mom’s gun and it hit Buck…he won’t wake up” Harry sobs out, clutching the phone in his shaking hands.

“Hang up and call 911! I’ll be right there!” May yells through the phone and Harry sobs hysterically as he hangs up and calls Maddie.

_“Maddie Buckley”_

“M-maddie? It’s Harry…m-my friend got shot! What do I do?!” Harry cries.

 _“Ok honey, I need you to take a breath for me ok? Does your friend have a pulse? Press two fingers to the side of their neck to check.”_ Harry does just that and he feels a weak beat under his fingers.

“Y-yes he does, t-there’s blood coming from his mouth”

 _“Ok Harry, this is really important. I need you to turn him on his side so he doesn’t choke ok?”_ Harry sniffs as he puts the phone on speaker. He grabs Buck’s shoulders to pull him in his direction, but he underestimated his weight. He screams for someone to help and a few kids scramble forward to help push/pull Buck.

“O-ok he’s on his side! There’s s-so much blood” Harry looks horrified, and he knows that he’ll have nightmares for weeks. He doesn’t know how he’ll explain this to mom and Bobby…what if Buck doesn’t make it?

 _“Good, I need you to grab a towel or a shirt or any kind of cloth to push against the wound. That will slow the bleeding until help gets there ok?”_ Harry is about to get up, but one of his friends rushes back with a brown towel from the bathroom. Harry pushes it against Buck’s wound, but it quickly seeps through.

“O-ok now what?”

_“I need you to hang up ok? I need you to call 911”_

“You are 911!”

_“Sweetie, I’m not working, I’m on maternity leave. I’m going to hang up now, and I want you to call 911 immediately ok?”_

“Maddie wait!” But he hears the three beeps, indicating that Maddie has hung up. Before he can reach the phone, May bursts through the door and stops at the scene in front of her.

“Buck!” May slides next to him as she rattles off her home address to the dispatcher. “Please hurry, there’s so much blood”

_“Help is on the way”_

“What did you do?” May asks and Harry says nothing as he cries, losing the pressure he has on Buck. May then pushes her hand against the wound. Harry sits back and cries into his hands.

“I-I-I-I d-didn’t mean to! It was an accident!” Harry stutters out through tears.

“This is why mom gave us a gun safety speech!” May yells though she knows that won’t help anyone.

“I didn’t know it was loaded! W-why did you leave?” May then feels a pang of guilt go through her. She knew she was grounded and wasn’t supposed to leave, but it was cool because Buck was in charge. She was coming home early anyway…she never should have left.

“May?! Harry?!” Yells a voice through the door and everyone looks back to see Athena burst through the door and stops when she sees the scene in front of her.

{~}{~}

Eddie wants to sprint into the house when he sees that the truck stops in front of Bobby’s house. Hen has similar thoughts as she tries to go through, but is stopped by Chim. He looks over to Bobby, who looks anxious and scared, but they have to wait until officers clear the scene.

“Buck?! Chris!” Eddie yells at the house but doesn’t get a response. But then a paled Athena comes out of the house, clearing the scene. The 118 then all but rushes forward into the house, and what they see will haunt them for a long time. Harry and May are gathered around Buck, who is bleeding heavily and unconscious. The other kids are huddled in the corner, away from the scene, scared. Chris, Denny, and Nia are huddled in a small circle. Denny is protecting Nia from seeing what’s in front of her, while Chris is silently crying, looking on at the scene. Eddie steps forward to comfort Chris, but stops when he sees Buck on the ground.

“I got the kids!” Athena yells as she goes outside to grab the trio and it’s all hands on deck for Buck. Eddie falls to his knees, trying to rouse Buck.

“Buck? Hey wake up marido…Buck?” Eddie pushes the hair back from Buck as he takes away the compress, but flinches back when it squirts out a stream of blood. He applies pressure as Hen and Chim are working on Buck around him. He looks up to Buck when he hears a groan. He sees Buck’s eyes flutter open, but then squeeze in pain.

“Eddie?” Buck asks in a confused groggy voice.

“I’m right here Buck, just hang on. We’ll take good care of you ok?”

“Harry…Chris”

“Everyone’s ok Buck, just try to relax ok?” Eddie says as he takes the compress off of Buck when Hen tells him to. Chim cuts the shirt open and Eddie has to suppress a gasp at the state of Buck’s chest. It’s more blood than peach skin. Chim then places a stethoscope to Buck, who groans at the sensation.

“C-cold…” Buck whispers weakly, Chim then laughs softly.

“I know buddy…c-can you take a deep breath for me?” Buck groans but then takes a shaky inhale and an unsteady exhale. It sounds like an old man gasping for air.

“I-it might be pneumothorax,” Chim says, bagging the stethoscope before expertly inserting an IV into Buck’s hand. Hen then rips open a package of QuikClot and presses the gauze to Buck’s chest before covering it with some plastic to prevent the possible collapsed lung from further damage. Meanwhile, Chim is hooking Buck up to a cardiac monitor, which shows that Buck is running out of time, but they have to stabilize him before moving him.

“Can you still breathe Buck?” Hen asks and Buck gives a shaky thumbs up. He then places his hand on Eddie.

“Check on Chris” he says in a raspy voice.

“Buck…no, I-I can’t leave you! I-“ Eddie starts but then Karen rushes in.

“I got Denny and Nia!” Karen says as she passes Buck, her eyes widening as she sees his situation. Karen rushes to the back.

“Eddie? Go check on Chris, Chim and I got this” Eddie hesitates but sighs, he sniffs as he places a teary eyes kissed on Buck’s forehead.

“I’ll be right back amor, just hang on for us ok?” He practically begs against his forehead, and he feels like crying when Buck only whimpers in response. He rushes off of the back and sees Chris hiding behind his hands. He quickly goes to pick him up, who curls into his shoulders.

“Papa’s hurt” Chris sobs and Eddie’s heart breaks that bad things keep happening to their family.

“He’s in good hands Chris” Eddie whispers against his son’s curls. He looks over to Athena who is holding a sobbing Harry, the poor kid must have seen the whole thing.

“What happened?!” Bobby demands as he comes outside where all the kids are gathered. His question seems to break Harry and May, who cry harder at this. Bobby softens before running over to May and holding her.

“B-bobby I-“ May stutters but is shushed by Bobby.

“Shh, it’s ok May.” Bobby says before looking back inside and sees Buck is being lifted onto a gurney.

“I’ll see you at the hospital Bobby” Athena says as she strokes down Harry’s head, who is sobbing hysterically, and having trouble catching his breath.

Eddie tightens his hold on Chris as his heart squeezes in pain when he hears Buck’s semi-loud scream of pain as he’s placed on a gurney.

“Papa…” Chris is about to reach out to where Buck is, but Eddie turns his head away from the scene, trying to shield him from seeing more than he already has.

“It’s ok Chris, he’s going to be just fine” He says as Hen and Chim are about to extend the gurney. But like always, the universe contradicts what Eddie just told his son when they both hear the flatline.

“Papa!” Chris screams as he begins to squirm in Eddie’s arms, desperate to get down and rush to Buck. When he sees that squirming isn’t working, Chris starts to push back and lightly hits Eddie on his back shoulders. Eddie sees that they need help, so he hands a hysterical Christopher to Bobby, who takes him without hesitation.

“Start compressions!” Hen calls out and Eddie rushes in just in time to begin CPR on Buck. He gives 45 compressions before giving Buck mouth to mouth.

“Stand clear...charging” Eddie leans away as Chim brings the defibrillators down onto Buck’s chest. Eddie has to suppress the sob and flinch as Buck’s back arches with the shock, but the flatline continues.

“No good, resume CPR” Chim calls out before Eddie resumes compressions.

_Please not like this_

Eddie begs as he leans away when Chim repeats the same actions, they wait for a moment and everyone takes a collective sigh of relief when the cardiac monitor resumes a steady heart rate. Eddie practically collapses over Buck, or at least leans over him, forehead against forehead.

“Keep him awake!” Chim says as they extend the gurney again, and Eddie would like to think that Buck groaning in pain at the movement is the most amazing sound he’s heard today.

“Tired…” Buck says and turns his head to go to sleep, but Eddie gently pats his cheek.

“No Buck, you need to stay awake for me ok? You know the rules” Buck sighs as he looks over to Eddie and gives a weak smile. Eddie hesitates to climb into the ambulance when Hen and Chim are loading him up. He wants to be with Buck, but there’s his son, who’s still in the house. Luckily Bobby comes out, telling him that he’ll take the kids and meet them at the hospital. Eddie gives one last look to Chris before climbing into the ambulance. He makes sure Buck stays awake until they get to the hospital.

“Why do bad things happen to you baby?” Eddie asks quietly and Buck makes a noise that sounds like _I don’t know_.

“What even happened?” Hen asks as she checks his vitals one more time.

“Harry...told him to put it down,” Buck says and everyone in the ambulance shares a confused look.

“Put what down?” Eddie asks, but he never finds out the answer because the driver announces that they’ve arrived at the hospital. They wheel him into the hospital to a team of waiting doctors, Hen rattles off everything that’s happened. Eddie is struggling to keep up with the gurney.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up ok? Come back to me” Eddie whispers as he places a kiss on Buck’s knuckles before he’s forced to stop. He can’t follow them into the trauma bay, but he prays that Buck will be ok...he doesn’t know if he can survive losing him a second time.

{~}{~}

Eddie is anxiously waiting for news about his husband when Bobby walks in with Chris on his shoulders. He’s up instantly and takes Chris from Bobby, who curls around Eddie in sadness again. He hasn’t stopped crying, and neither has Harry and May when they enter. Athena has an unreadable but sad look on her face as she gently sits her kids down. Michael came in from behind her. Hen had entered with Nia and Denny not too long ago.

“Is she alright?” Eddie asks, gesturing to Nia, who is asleep in Hen’s arms.

“She’s fine now, but she was so terrified, the gunshot must have scared her. But Denny was such a brave boy. You did a very good job of protecting your sister from the bad guy” Karen says, gently stroking Denny’s head as he has a hand on Nia. Karen feels Denny tense when Hen mentions a _bad guy_ , and she fears that he must have seen the whole thing. She hopes the questions that Athena has for everyone won’t upset them further. All of the kids love Buck, seeing him hurt…again must have terrified them.

Athena then stands up and everyone knows that she’s going to ask questions, but then Eddie suggests moving to one of the many private lounge rooms the hospital has for the patients family, so that they can wait comfortably.

_Ironically, the doctor that has worked on Buck since the tracheotomy incident had a room reserved for Buck's family when they heard he was coming in again._

A nurse had led them to the room that read _Station 118_ on the paper that was taped to the door, Eddie wanted to think that in different circumstances, that he would feel better, knowing that the hospital is looking out for them, but now? He hates this, it goes to show how often his family ends up here.

“Ok…I know it’s been a long and hard day, but I need to know what happened ok? And please don’t lie to us ok?” Athena addresses the kids in the room with a motherly voice with an undertone of police sergeant. Chris and Denny shoot each other a look and before someone can speak up, Athena looks to Harry and May for an explanation.

“You two were there, what happened?”

“I don’t know,” May says, half lying and she squirms under the look that her mom gives her.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Athena asks as she raises one eyebrow in question and May knows that she’s caught, and even though she knows she's going to get the same lecture she’s gotten before, but she knows that if she just stayed home, then none of this would have happened.

_And her big brother wouldn’t be fighting for his life out there_

“I don’t know how it happened…I-I wasn’t home” May says, looking down.

“And why not?” Bobby asks this time, and May hates that what she’s about to say will disappoint all three of her parental figures.

“I…I left home. I told Buck that I was leaving to go to the mall with some friends…”

“But you’re grounded” Athena says, crossing her arms over her chest as she fixes her daughter a look.

“…but Buck didn’t know that. I was going to be home before you got home. And I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, I should have stayed”

“Yes you should have, because then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. And since no one is giving me a straight answer, I’ll be right back” Athena says as she steps out of the room. May then hesitantly looks over to where her father and Bobby are, who feels her face heat up at the looks they are giving her.

“I-I’m sorry-“

“Sorry doesn’t fix you leaving…but I’m glad you went back,” Michael said before sitting straight when Athena’s voice lets out a loud gasp and a noise of anger.

“HARRY JON GRANT!” Michael’s eyes widen at the use of Harry’s full name. Harry visibly tenses and tears begin to spring out of his eyes. May puts a hand over his shoulder and pulls him into her side, hoping that her mom isn’t too harsh. She knows that Harry is beating himself up enough about it. Bobby goes out into the hallway to see what happened, and then peaks back in to call the adults out in the hallway. Someone closes the door in the hall and all of the kids wait in the room, tense and scared.

“P-papa told you t-to put it down” Chris whispers and Harry looks over to where Chris is sitting

“I know…” Harry says and May looks down in sadness, she always hated hearing her little brother sad. Chris was about to say something else when the door opened. May knows what they saw, the CCTV footage of the shooting and now all hell is going to break loose. But before Athena can speak up, Chris sobs when he sees Eddie’s red crying face. He reaches down to pick Christopher up and take him out of the room, since this is a conversation between the Grant-Nash family. Hen and Karen seem to have the same idea, escorting Denny to the door as Karen holds Nia.

“You hurt him! You hurt my papa!” Christopher yells back and Eddie looks startled at this. Chris has never been one to yell at someone, but it’s different this time. Especially when Buck is hurt.

“I-I didn’t mean to-“ Harry sobs out, looking at Chris through tears.

“You hurt my big brother…” Denny whispers, half hidden against Hen. And all three parents looked startled, not knowing where to go from here.

“He’s mine too-“ Harry tries to say but stops when Athena speaks.

“Harry, do you have any idea how stupid that was? How dangerous? I’ve told you time and time again that guns aren’t toys, but you didn’t listen to me” Athena says sternly, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “And May, what were you thinking? You took advantage of Buck’s kindness to leave the house? I don’t want to think what could have happened if you hadn’t gotten there in time. Buck was seriously hurt, your friends could have been seriously hurt”

“T-they dared me to get one. I didn’t think it was loaded” Harry tries to explain, but his father cuts in.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s loaded or not Harry, you shouldn’t have taken it out.”

“I-I just wanted to be cool like you mom”

“And look what happens when you give into peer pressure!” Athena says as she gestures vaguely to outside the room.

“Harry…we’ve talked about this. You can never do anything to put other people’s life in danger, I thought we cleared that up after the lawn fire debacle” Bobby says and Harry looks down, tears streaming down his face.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Athena asks and Harry wipes his tears with his arm and sighs as he looks up.

{~}{~}

Eddie had paled when he saw the blood covered scrubs of the doctor and he tucked Chris' face in between his neck to stop him from seeing the gruesome scene. Eddie had all but ran to Buck’s room when the doctor came out to say that Buck survived the surgery. Knowing the hallways by heart, he stops in front of the room and he takes a breath, bracing himself as he enters the room. He stops when he sees Buck’s pale form on the bed. He has an oxygen mask on his face and has a blanket covering his form. Chris has fallen asleep, so he gently places him on the couch, unzips his sweatshirt and places it over Chris to keep him warm. He turns and is about to reach for Buck’s hand when he hears a knock on the door. He sees the doctor standing in the doorway, wearing a fresh pair of scrubs.

“Is he ok? All things considered?” Eddie asks nervously.

“We did the best we could, and there could be complications later down the road, but all things considered, he’s fine. He coded again during surgery, but he pulled through. We were able to stabilize him, and successfully remove the bullet. But the bullet had grazed his lung, causing it to collapse. It was re-inflated, so he’ll have some discomfort breathing for a while, but as long as he takes his medication, he will be fine. He should wake up soon, at least by tomorrow”

“Is there a reason that he has a large bed?” Eddie asked, taking note of the unusually large bed that Buck has.

“Patients sleep and recover faster when their loved ones are near.” Eddie thanked the doctor and looked at Buck and sighed. Eddie brought his hand to his cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb.

“Why do these things happen to you?” Eddie whispered brokenly, he hated this part. Waiting for Buck to wake up, not knowing what may or may not happen next. He hears a groan behind him and he sees Chris starting to move around.

“Papa?” Chris asks frantically as he shoots up from his position. Eddie quickly makes his way over and picks up Chris to lay him on one side of the bed. Chris relaxes instantly, sighing and putting his hand over Buck’s heart, assuring himself that he’s still here.

“You’re ok kid” Eddie hears Chris whisper and he nearly cries. Instead he gently kisses Chris on the forehead before giving a lingering one to Buck. Pushing his hair back and wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He takes off his shoes and gets into the bed with Buck. He knows he should go out there and inform the others on Buck’s condition, but he can’t seem to leave his husband's side, not when he was so close to losing him.

And it disturbs Eddie to know that this wasn’t on the job…Harry shot him. Every part of him was telling him that it was an accident, but he saw that footage and he heard the audio. Buck told Harry to put it down…maybe if he did, then they wouldn’t be here. But he’s just a kid…Eddie feels torn at his feelings, so he pushes them down for now and buries himself against his husband.

_Intertwining their hands and their wedding rings matching under the fluorescent light._

{~}{~}

He feels everything but nothing at the same when he comes to. He feels a small weight on his chest, a pressing feeling on his face, the tickle of air as he breathes in and out, the strain of taking a deep breath on the side of his sternum, and the aching somewhere in the middle of his chest. But he also feels the huff of breathing against his neck, and someone’s hand on his own.

_That’s when he remembers what happened_

Instead of shooting up in what he assumes is the hospital, he tries to slowly come to, because he knows that his family is in the bed, and if they are sleeping, then he doesn’t want to wake him up. Buck then sees the harsh light behind his closed eyelids, and he tries to slowly open them, to get his senses used to the bright lights and noises that can only belong to a hospital.

He opens his eyes and he sees a mop of blonde curls on his side and he knows that it’s Chris. He smiles sadly, hoping that his incident didn’t scar him too badly. And Harry…and the other kids, oh dear what happened to them? He turns to find Eddie asleep against him, and he knows that he’s not going to get answers any time soon when he sees that it’s almost midnight. So he sighs as he brings his arms around his boys, holding them close.

“Papa?” Chris asks quietly and Buck knows that he was sleeping lightly.

“Hi kiddo” Buck whispers back and he feels Chris snuggle deeper to Buck’s side, desperate to get some form of contact. Buck shushes him quietly while petting his hair down.

“It’s alright…it’s alright. I love you my little superman”

“Love you papa” says Chris, muffled by Buck’s hospital shirt. Buck looks over and sees that Eddie is still asleep. A testament to how emotionally exhausting the day must have been for him, which makes him think about the others. Poor Harry, the kid must have been a wreck, but Buck doesn’t blame him. He’s just a kid that made a mistake, and he forgives him for it. Plus he knows that Athena will deal with him properly. But Denny and Nia? He hopes they’re ok and that this didn’t scare them too badly.

“I’m sorry you had to see that Christopher” Buck says, they both know what he is referring to. Chris grips Buck’s shirt tighter at this.

“You died…was so scared” Buck felt his heart squeeze at this. Does that mean he flatlined and Chris saw?

_Oh no_

_“_ I’m so sorry _mi chiquito,_ I’m sorry you had to experience that. But I’m here now ok? And I know it will be hard to believe for a while, so you can sleep in our bed anytime ok?” Buck promises and Chris nods at this and sighs as he rubs his face, and Buck can see that he had dried tear tracks on his face. He silently encouraged Chris to look up at him, when he did, he quietly took off his mask before kissing Christopher on the forehead. Sliding it back down onto his face.

“I’m all right bud, I promise” Chris says nothing as he lies back down, putting his head on Buck’s chest, away from the wound, but close enough to hear Buck’s heart.

{~}{~}

Buck looks up from where he is lying down on Eddie to see Athena and Hen knocking at the door. Eddie squeezes him one last time before sliding off of the bed.

“I have to pick Chris up from school, I’ll see you soon cariño.” Eddie says before giving Buck a chaste kiss and leaving the room.

“Hey Buck, you gave me a scare” Athena says as she gently gives Buck a hug, who melts into the embrace.

“Hi ‘Thena. Sorry-“ Buck begins but Athena squeezes him, telling him to stop talking.

“Don’t apologize baby, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Are the kids alright?” He asks after Athena pulls away and Hen replaces her. “Denny and Nia?”

“They are physically fine, but I think Denny may have seen the shot go off. Nia just got scared by the loud noise, but they’re fine Buck. I promise” Hen says reassuringly.

“And Harry…May?” Buck asks hesitantly and Athena has an unreadable look.

“May is fine…grounded but-“

“Wait grounded why?” Buck cuts in and Athena sighs.

“She was grounded, but you didn’t know that. She left anyway, she knew she wasn’t supposed to but she did it nonetheless”

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t know”

“I know you didn’t, it’s ok hun” Athena squeezes his shoulder in reassurance.

“And Harry? Is he alright? I don’t blame him at all, it was an accident and I know that he didn’t mean it”

“We know that too, but it still happened. He knows he never should have gone into my room without my permission. I respect his privacy, I figured he would do the same.”

“Is he here?” Buck asks after a moment and Athena nods, she gets up to leave the room.

“Are they ok? Denny and Nia?”

“Denny got scared, and mad at Harry. He told Harry that he hurt his big brother” Hen smiles sadly at Buck, who looks destroyed.

“I didn’t mean for-“

“Buck…what happened wasn’t your fault, you did everything just right. This was just an accident, and yes it’ll be hard for a while, but you’re here, and that’s all that matters.”

“Next time I’m watching them at my place” Buck says and Hen chuckles but the laughing stops when they hear a sniffle at the door. Hen then leaves the room to give them some privacy, but not before squeezing Buck’s shoulder in fondness. Harry is looking into the room from behind the corner, the wall hiding his body while his head peaks out. He looks a little bit better than yesterday, but then again, Buck never saw him after the gunshot. His eyes were puffy and his face looked a little swollen from crying so much.

“Hey Harry,” Buck says, trying to put him at ease, but it doesn’t work since Harry hides behind the wall. Athena gives Buck a small smile and whispers something in his ear that encourages Harry to look back.

“H-hi Buck…” Harry stutters out and Buck smiles sadly at him as he sits up in the bed. Harry steadies himself as he enters the room, hesitating with every step he takes. He stops at the foot of Buck’s bed and looks down as more tears fall down his face.

“Hey kiddo, you doing ok?” Buck asks and Harry looks down in shame.

“I-I’m so sorry Buck…I-I-I didn’t mean to shoot you! I-I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you! I-I was so scared that I killed my big brother and-“ Harry can’t seem to speak through his tears. He wipes them with his arms, he stops when he feels hands on his shoulders.

“Come here Harry…it’s ok. Come here” Buck beckons for him to get on the bed and Harry practically launches himself into the bed, careful of the wound. He grips Buck’s shirt like a lifeline, crying into his shoulder. Buck rubs the palm of his hand down Harry’s hair while holding him close.

“I’m so sorry Buck”

“Harry…what you did was irresponsible, but I know you’re blaming yourself enough, and your mom gave you the lecture of the century” Athena nods at this and keeps quiet.

“As long as you promise not to do it again ok?” Buck says and Harry nods, burying himself further into Buck, crying harder than he ever has in his life.

“It’s ok kid-“

“It’s _not_ ok…nothing about this is ok”

“It is…I promise I’m not mad at you. Nothing in this world can make me get mad at you. I forgive you” Buck says as he pulls Harry closer, still petting his hair down. Buck can feel Harry still sniffing, even as the cries subside. He grabs a tissue from his bedside and gently dabs the tears away.

“We’re ok Harry…promise” Buck says as Harry looks down and nods. They hear a knock at the door and they see May looking hesitantly in the room. Buck smiles as he extends his arm, beckoning her to come in and join the hug. She sits on the bed and reaches forward to hug Harry as Buck wraps an arm around her.

“We’re ok kids, I promise we’re ok”

“I’m sorry Buck, I never should have left” May says as her voice breaks.

“No, you shouldn’t have. But I’m glad you did, you could have gotten hurt”

“What about you?! You got hurt…I could have stopped Harry and-“

“We can’t change the past, but we can make sure that this doesn’t happen again ok? Eddie said that his old captain is willing to give a gun safety speech at the firehouse. Maybe you and your friends can come ok?”

“Ok…” they both say as they sag against Buck, the emotional exhaustion of the day is catching up to them. Athena stands up to take them away but Buck shakes his head.

“It’s ok Athena, they’ve had a long day, besides the bed is big enough for all of us.”

“I’m still so sorry this happened hun”

“Next time I’ll watch them at our place, where there are no dangerous weapons in the house”

{~}{~}

There was a small celebration of Buck getting out of the hospital at the Buckley-Diaz house. People laughed, apologized, forgave, and danced. Once everyone was full from food, and mingling, Eddie had noticed that Buck and Chris were gone. Not only that, but the rest of the kids were also gone. Eddie excused himself from the table and went searching for everyone else. He looked in the living room, the kitchen, and even the backyard, and they were not anywhere to be found. Eddie then took a chance when he looked in their bedroom and what he saw made his heart burst.

_It was Buck’s first day home from the hospital and it was an exhausting day, from running last-minute tests to getting up and walking up and down the halls to test his mobility. An EKG to test his heart beats, and many other tests. But once they were over, Buck was allowed to go home and was surprised by a small party from his family and friends, including the kids._

On the bed was laying his husband and their son, but they were not the only occupants in the bed. Somehow, Harry, Denny, Chris, May, and even Nia were all squeezed together on the bed, wanting to be near Buck after almost losing him. Eddie smiles as he pulls out his phone to take a picture, this was worth a thousand words. And before going to get the others to show them this domestic scene, he quietly entered and placed a lingering kiss on Buck’s forehead, whispering that he loves him and he’s so glad he’s home and safe now.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Feel Free to comment!

Come visit me on my [Tumblr](https://chitownwolf.tumblr.com/)!

Another work on this prompt is called _[Love is Like a Bullet to the Heart ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24315841)_by the lovely [Lilstories33 ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilstories33/pseuds/Lilstories33)


End file.
